Two stabbed in attack at WIBW-TV studios

WIBW-TV news director Jon Janes was in cardiopulmonary resuscitation training on what had been a routine Wednesday morning when he was called about 9:10 a.m. to the front lobby of the Topeka station.

A man who had been buzzed in through the station’s secured glass doors was waiting in the lobby to talk with Janes.

The man, who Janes said "obviously had some kind of mental problem," demanded the station do a story about an issue he was having with the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs.

After hearing the man out, Janes told him there was nothing the station could do to resolve his problem.

"He was very angry," Janes said. "He said ‘You’re gonna cover my story one way of the other.’ "

Janes watched as the man, identified by police as Ray Anthony Miles, 48, stormed out of the station.

The man, who Janes said had an "angry walk," continued marching to the east, away from the station at 631 S.W. Commerce Place.

Janes later said he would have called police had the man loitered outside the station, but decided not to do so, thinking the man was moving on.

Janes at 9:15 a.m. returned to the CPR training with about six other employees. But five minutes later they were startled by a loud crashing noise.

The same man was back, having gained entry to the station by smashing a lamp through a locked glass security door, kicking in the door, then rushing past a receptionist.

As the man was breaking into the station, employees called 911.

The receptionist, Lynda Janes, and meteorologist Rob Peppers saw what was happening and went down a hall warning co-workers. Lynda Janes is the wife of Jon Janes.

The man, who apparently was searching for the WIBW newsroom, came across Dylan Schoonover, who works in the station’s creative services department, and told him to "hit me." Schoonover was able to get out of the station through an exit and gather with other employees outside.

Meanwhile, the man went back up the hallway, where he came face to face with Janes.

Janes said the man hit him in the upper chest area, causing his head to hit a wall in the hallway. The impact nearly caused Janes to black out, and he fell to the ground face first.

Several employees heard the commotion and attempted to restrain the man. Janes got to his feet and helped "dog pile" on top of the man, who he said was sweating profusely and breathing heavily.

"He was extremely strong," Janes said. "It took five or six of us to hold him down."

As the man was being held down, Janes said, one of the WIBW employees yelled "knife."

The man had managed to reach into his pocket and pull out a knife, but was limited in his jab movements by the men on top of him. Still, the man stabbed two employees, inflicting what were described as minor wounds.

"As we were holding the man down, he yelled, ‘I’m going to kill all of you,’ " Janes said. "That kind of gets your attention."

Janes said the man began to calm down after chief engineer Cary Lahnum, a retired Navy Seal, pressed his thumbs on the man’s closed eyes in a maneuver designed to subdue him.

Police arrived about 9:25 a.m. and soon had Miles in custody.

Janes credited the quick action of employees with helping diffuse the situation and preventing it from being worse.

The two employees who were stabbed in their hip areas were identified as sales manager Roger Brokke, who formerly was advertising director at The Topeka Capital-Journal from 1999 to 2004, and sales associate Greg Palmer.

Brokke and Palmer were taken to a hospital by American Medical Response ambulance.

Brokke had four stitches to his head, which Janes said resulted from a haymaker that Miles threw at him. Brokke had returned to work by Wednesday afternoon.

Brokke also received treatment, including a tetanus shot, after being bitten through his shirt in his shoulder by Miles.

Medical officials were seeking to draw blood from Miles to check on possible illnesses he might be carrying in connection with his bite on Brokke’s shoulder.

Palmer, meanwhile, suffered more of a puncture wound from the stabbing and was in the hospital for a longer period than Brokke, Janes said.

Miles was taken by ambulance to the Colmery-O’Neil VA Medical Center, where he later was picked up by police to be booked into the Shawnee County Jail.

Miles late Wednesday afternoon was being held without bond in jail in connection with aggravated assault, aggravated battery, aggravated burglary, aggravated criminal threat causing terror or evacuation, criminal damage and simple battery.

Jail officials said Miles was homeless.

The Associated Press reported Jim Gleisberg, a public affairs officer for the VA, said he couldn’t comment on the attacks, citing patient privacy laws.

Never miss a story

Choose the plan that's right for you.
Digital access or digital and print delivery.

Advertising

Stay Connected

Original content available for non-commercial use under a Creative Commons license, except where noted.
The Topeka Capital-Journal ~ 616 SE Jefferson, Topeka, KS 66607 ~ Privacy Policy ~ Terms Of Service